Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Huang Kunming: Maximize the easing of restrictions on technological innovation and market exploration, enabling the low-altitude economy to "take off," autonomous driving to "run," and embodied intelligence to "be used."

Comrade Huang Kunming’s Speech at the Guangdong High-Quality Development Conference (2026)

Comrades, friends:

The rain has just passed, and it is the perfect time for spring planting. Today marks the first day of work in the Year of the Horse according to the lunar calendar. This year is the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan” start-up. Every new beginning always brings boundless hope and strength. Amid the festive atmosphere, we once again sound the rallying call, focusing on the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries, to jointly explore new paths for Guangdong’s high-quality development. During the recently concluded Spring Festival holiday, Guangdong experienced a surge in both capital and vitality. On February 13, the province’s railway passenger volume broke the Spring Festival travel record; on February 20, the Pearl River cruise passenger volume reached a new high of 45,400; on February 21, traffic across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge hit a record of 29,500 vehicles; on February 23, passenger throughput at Baiyun Airport and Shenzhen Airport both broke historical records. These impressive figures testify to Guangdong’s vigorous development and reflect the passionate efforts of the entire province. Here, on behalf of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Government, I extend my best New Year wishes to all leaders, guests, and fellow compatriots! I also pay high tribute and heartfelt thanks to those who have remained at their posts during the Spring Festival and to all workers who have resumed work after the holiday.

The coordinated integration and transformation of manufacturing and service industries are key trends in industrial development. A modern industrial system is the material and technological foundation of Chinese-style modernization. Our Party, in leading and advancing modernization, has always focused on strengthening the industrial base, optimizing industrial structure, and balancing industrial relations. Since the founding of New China, especially after the reform and opening-up, we have vigorously developed industry, rapidly catching up with and accelerating the global industrialization process, while also developing the service sector into a “half of the economy” and the main channel for employment, driving both scale and quality upgrades in our industries, and supporting the rapid economic growth and long-term social stability—two miracles of development.

General Secretary carefully guides Guangdong’s industrial development, clearly requiring the promotion of industrial structure optimization and upgrading, and the acceleration of building an industrial system that integrates real economy, technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources; emphasizing the need to uphold manufacturing as the foundation of the province, strengthen digital economy leadership, and build a modern industrial system with international competitiveness. We remember the earnest instructions of the General Secretary. Every year, the High-Quality Development Conference focuses on industry themes—ranging from mutual reinforcement of industry and technology, to building a modern industrial system, and to the coordinated development of manufacturing and services. Our understanding deepens, goals become clearer, work becomes more refined, and we are more confident and capable of addressing this key issue.

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is an inevitable path to adapt to industry evolution and achieve industrial upgrading. Looking at the history of industrial development, the synergy between the two has always been evolving dynamically. On one hand, industrial division of labor continues to deepen, spawning more specialized sectors; on the other hand, industrial collaboration becomes closer, with different industries embedding and crossing into each other, creating new formats and models—greatly improving productivity and promoting the development of productive forces. In the information age, productive services empower advanced manufacturing in all aspects, and the deep integration of real economy and digital economy drives the transformation of manufacturing into services and services into manufacturing, leading to continuous iteration and upgrading of the industrial system, becoming a decisive force for economic growth. Just now, during our visit, we saw Huawei’s Qiankun “hardware + software” driving intelligent new energy vehicles, and Xiyin’s “small batch, quick response” flexible supply chain connecting production and demand—both vivid examples of industrial transformation at the enterprise level. Guangdong is a major manufacturing and service province; we must seize the opportunity and strive to break through, achieving a shift from large to strong through the synergy of both industries, building a modern industrial system that is integrated, mutually supportive, and co-evolving.

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is also a key move to embrace technological waves and proactively win the future. Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs, with frontiers like artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, and quantum communication erupting in clusters and integrating across fields, demanding urgent development of industry synergy and providing solid support. When traditional factories upgrade to smart factories and unmanned factories, when AI is used for disease screening and drug development, and robots are active on production lines and in homes, the synergy of both industries drives exponential growth in manufacturing capacity and service efficiency, greatly promoting new productive forces. Against this backdrop, the paradigm of global competition is shifting from single-product or single-service competition to complex, ecosystem-based competition, requiring new technologies to boost synergy and trigger fusion effects to secure a development high ground. Guangdong, with leading digital intelligence technologies, vast data resources, and rich application scenarios, must grasp opportunities and leverage advantages to lead in industry development through synergy, creating a modern industrial system that leads the times.

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is also a strategic necessity to smooth economic cycles and enrich people’s lives. The development of both industries enables producers to efficiently reach consumers and precisely match supply with demand, ensuring seamless connection across production, distribution, circulation, and consumption, better safeguarding and improving people’s livelihoods, and expanding development space through meeting people’s needs. Guangdong’s comprehensive industrial system and strong supply capacity provide conditions to deepen industry-service integration, coordinate supply-side structural reforms, and implement expansion of domestic demand, fostering positive interactions between supply and demand, better serving and integrating into the new development pattern. People expect better products and services, and also need the deep integration of manufacturing and services—advancing flexible, agile, and intelligent manufacturing, and enhancing personalized, customized, and differentiated services. With a population of 129 million, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a strategic pivot in the new development pattern, Guangdong must shoulder responsibilities and take initiative, improving quality and efficiency in industry development through synergy, and building a modern industrial system that balances supply and demand and benefits the people.

Comrades, friends! The dual drive of manufacturing and services concerns Guangdong’s overall high-quality development and modernization. We must leverage manufacturing’s strength to enhance services, and use excellent services to strengthen manufacturing, opening new horizons for industrial development through mutual achievement of “strong manufacturing province” and “highland of services.” Let the modern industrial system take root and flourish in Guangdong’s fertile land.

First, strengthen the main trunk and branches of the industrial system. Manufacturing and services are like the trunk and branches of a tree; deep roots and robust trunk are essential for lush growth. We must unwaveringly uphold the real economy as the foundation and manufacturing as the mainstay, promoting the old, nurturing the new, climbing higher, and becoming stronger together. Traditional advantageous industries should maintain scale, improve quality, and increase efficiency; emerging and future industries should be developed and expanded. The “chain integration” approach will create new industrial pillars, cultivating more trillion-yuan and hundred-billion-yuan industrial clusters. We should promote high-quality, efficient development of services—using technological services to enhance manufacturing core competitiveness, financial services to inject fresh vitality into the real economy, and business services to open markets for industrial products. As AI becomes widely integrated across industries, driven by IoT, platform empowerment, data-driven approaches, and software-defined operations, our production and service models are undergoing revolutionary changes. Great transformation presents great opportunities. Whether in manufacturing or services, industry practitioners should embrace the era of intelligence, relying on AI to elevate synergy, jointly shaping Guangdong’s “advanced manufacturing + modern services” overall advantage, and creating new forms of intelligent economy.

Second, activate the micro-cells of business entities. Enterprises are the cellular units of the industrial system; vibrant and capable cells enable the system to metabolize and grow faster. Focus should be on cultivating leading “top-tier” enterprises that dominate ecosystems, aligning with trends of specialization and social collaboration. Support industry leaders and chain masters to form alliances, connect upstream and downstream, coordinate large, medium, and small enterprises, transitioning from manufacturing to services and vice versa, striving to become comprehensive champions providing “manufacturing + services” solutions. Cultivate “specialized, refined, distinctive, innovative” “little giants,” “single champion” manufacturing enterprises, and industry benchmarks in services, fostering a vibrant environment of diverse enterprises. Support hub-type “platform” enterprises to enhance resource allocation, channel control, and production coordination, efficiently linking numerous manufacturing entities and service providers, catalyzing broader and deeper industry synergy.

Third, accumulate strength in technological innovation. Industry synergy begins and thrives on technological innovation, which provides rich nourishment and strong momentum. Focus on fundamental and universal needs, advancing common technology R&D and organizational innovation, connecting scientists’ ideas, entrepreneurs’ investments, and engineers’ skills, ensuring technology innovation permeates every industry and enterprise. Address technical shortfalls across sectors, leveraging concentrated efforts on key materials, components, equipment, and foundational software to remove bottlenecks. Focus on multidisciplinary cross-field areas that define future industry forms, strategically targeting breakthrough technologies to generate new synergy formats and competitive advantages. Talent is a precious resource for innovation; Guangdong must deepen the development of high-level talent hubs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, implementing the “Million Talents to Nanyue” plan to build a large, high-quality, versatile talent pool. Last year, over 1.1 million university graduates moved to Guangdong for employment and entrepreneurship; this year’s target remains over 1 million. With continuous inflow of high-quality talents, population, social, and economic structures will gradually optimize. In 10 or 20 years, Guangdong’s development will be markedly different.

Fourth, improve the business environment with sunshine and rain. The coordinated development of industries will inevitably lead to the emergence of new products, formats, and models, requiring an open, inclusive, stable business environment to nurture new growth. Deepening reforms to strengthen institutional supply in new sectors, solving issues of “old rules controlling new productive forces,” and easing restrictions on technological innovation and market exploration will enable new economies like low-altitude economy, autonomous driving, and embodied intelligence to flourish, ensuring both “release” and “regulation.” Expanding openness to integrate into global industrial chains, accelerating the gathering of global manufacturing and service resources, and enhancing Guangdong’s “Made in Guangdong” and “Services in Guangdong” brands through high-level “bringing in” and “going out” are essential. The quality of the environment and the satisfaction of enterprises are key indicators. All levels of government in the province will continue to sincerely engage with enterprises, listen to their opinions, and focus policies on their concerns, aiming to create the best government services and promote high efficiency for enterprises. In the new year, efforts should be made to have officials work a bit harder, move a bit faster, improve quality, optimize structure, and strengthen the foundation.

Comrades, friends! Located in Lingnan, forging ahead through hardships, the pioneers have always faced difficulties head-on; facing the South China Sea, braving winds and waves, the trendsetters have always been at the forefront. Standing at a new historical starting point, we have drawn the blueprint for the next five years and envisioned the goals for 2035. After the comprehensive efforts of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and the decisive victory in the “16th Five-Year Plan,” we believe a modernized new Guangdong will emerge before the world. In the next decade, Guangdong will become a strong and prosperous region: the total economy will double from 2022, reaching about 25.8 trillion yuan; per capita GDP will double from 2020, reaching the level of middle-income countries, with significant advances in economic, technological, and comprehensive strength. Guangdong will also become a well-off place to live: the “Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project” will fundamentally transform county, town, and village landscapes; urban-rural integration, regional coordination, and land-sea coordination will be basically established; material and spiritual civilizations will flourish together; people’s lives will be happier and more fulfilling, and their confidence and self-reliance will grow stronger. Over the next ten years, Guangdong will be vibrant: reform, opening-up, and innovation will be fully stimulated, attracting talents, gathering enterprises, prospering markets, and thriving industries. The world-class Greater Bay Area and the most developed bay areas will become realities. Guangdong has created remarkable development miracles, raising the banner of “Reform and Opening-up in Guangdong.” Carrying forward the torch of history, we must strive for excellence and never fall behind, writing a new chapter of “Chinese-style modernization in Guangdong.”

Comrades, friends! Bright prospects and great tides forge new beginnings; the Pearl River sings joyfully, and thousands of ships race to create brilliance. Let us strengthen our confidence, maintain high spirits, and strive to lead in building Chinese-style modernization, making greater contributions to the nation’s strength and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

Wishing everyone a prosperous Year of the Horse, and all things as hoped! Thank you!

Source: Southern Daily

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